Dividing the Family Business in Divorce

SAN DIEGO DIVORCE LAWYERS

Dividing the Family Business in Divorce

Splitting the Family Business

If you and your spouse have been married for some time and have built a family-owned business, a divorce can be devastating in more ways than one. Divorce generally means that you are going to sever all ties to your former spouse, but this may not be possible if you share a business. You could sell the company, but that might deprive both you and your spouse of your means of income and it might also devalue your company. What do you do if you are faced with a divorce but cannot afford to buy your spouse out of your business or, worse still, you cannot operate the business without your former partner?

The Men’s Legal Center is here to help you determine the best way to divide a family-owned business or work out a plan to keep the business and operate it together while protecting your rights. Contact them today for help with your business dilemma.

Can I Keep My Business After The Divorce?

How you dispose of your family-owned business will depend greatly on the circumstances of your divorce. It is possible for both you and your former spouse to keep interest in your business and even operate it together after the divorce, although this is difficult and requires a great deal of maturity as well as a commitment to making the business work. However, if you are going to take this route, you must be sure that you have the terms of the agreement in writing and that your attorney has carefully vetted the agreement to be sure that it contains provisions for future possibilities, such as remarriage by one or both partners and how the business will survive if one of you decides to sell or dies.

While it may be necessary for both spouses to continue operating a business, in most cases, it is best to divide the business and allow one partner to continue to operate it while the other one takes a cash settlement or other form of compensation. This is particularly true if one partner was just a figurehead and the other actually performs the work of the business. There are several ways to accomplish this goal, including allowing one partner to buy the other out over time with regular monthly payments or allowing one partner to take a larger share of other marital assets such as the equity in the family home.

If you are facing a complicated divorce, contact the Men’s Legal Center for help.

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